Maradona making a run at history

Argentina coach Diego Maradona
Courtesy: topnews.in/sports

The quarterfinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa are set, and for soccer fans with an eye on the history of the game, it should come as a welcome sight that Diego Maradona’s Argentina squad are still in the hunt for the title.
The Argentineans have made it to this point by playing a brash brand of attacking soccer, and for their efforts can boast of being the tournament’s top-scoring team thus far with ten goals in four games as well as forward Gonzalo Higuain being tied for the tournament’s top scorer with four goals. To this point, the Argentineans have hardly been challenged in the tournament with a 4-0-0 record and only one game- their opener against Nigeria- having been decided by a lone goal.
Yet none of these statistics begin to put into perspective the significance of Argentina’s run toward a potential World Cup Title in South Africa. In short, if Argentina wins the title this year, coach Diego Maradona will become the most celebrated name in the history of international soccer.
In FIFA voting in the year 2000, Maradona was voted co-player of the twentieth century with Brazilian star Pele. In his playing career he competed for top teams in Europe, including Sevilla and Barcelona. In 1986 he won the World Cup for Argentina, the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player, and his transcendent play during the tournament is widely regarded as one of the best World Cup performances in history. Maradona was so incredible during the tournament that one of his two goals against England in the quarterfinals was named the Goal of the Century by FIFA in 2000.


Maradona in his playing days
Courtesy: topnews.in/sports

All of these statistics and awards paint a rather compelling picture for Maradona being considered the greatest name in soccer history if he is able to guide Argentina to the title this year. Added to that intrigue is the fact that Maradona now coaches reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, a player he has named as his successor both in terms of style of play and work ethic, and the pieces seem to be in place for a historic run.

Joefile!

Joe Gill has been the proprietor of Joe's Taverna on Campus Corner since 1993. In this profile he reflects on his time spent in business on the Corner and what that time has meant to him.

Blatter late than never

FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Courtesy: bbc.co.uk


If FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s statement to the worldwide media today is any indication, it would appear that the disallowed goal chronicled in yesterday’s post “No Goal! How a referee ruined England vs. Germany” might prove to be the tipping point FIFA needed to make a change to its policies regarding on-field instant replay.
According to the Associated Press, Blatter not only said that “something has to be changed” regarding FIFA’s stance toward on-field technology and apologized to English soccer representatives for any disservice done by Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda, but also suspended Larrionda for the remainder of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
“It is obvious after the experience so far in this World Cup it would be a nonsense not to open the file of technology at the business meeting of the international FA board in July,” Blatter said in his statement. “The only principle we are going to bring back for discussion is goal-line technology.”
This news comes perhaps one World Cup too late for the English, but is encouraging nonetheless. It shows that after years of flat-out dismissal of the topic, worldwide media pressure has finally convinced Blatter to undergo the process of making a vital change.
Some might point to a further need for review of important offsides calls missed by the referee or his linesmen, but Blatter’s assurances that he is looking into goal-line replay are enough to get the staff here at “Chris Miller’s JMC Odyssey” off his case for the moment.

No Goal! How a referee ruined England vs. Germany

Heading into today’s opening match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, there was a lot for soccer fans to get excited about. A veteran England squad were set to match up with a youthful German side in the latest installment of one of soccer’s most bitterly contested rivalries. English stars Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard had the opportunity to shake off lackluster group-stage performances by performing at a high level when it really mattered. Emerging German playmakers Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil had the chance to shine in their first performances on the world’s biggest sporting stage. Yes, there were storylines galore at the start of the day, and it’s a shame that now that the game is over poor referring seems to be what everyone’s talking about.
A crucial first-half mistake on the part of Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda has left many soccer fans wondering if the time has finally come for FIFA to implement some form of instant replay on the field and- more importantly- whether the better team won a berth in the quarterfinals.
In today’s match in Bloemfontein, the Germans struck first with clinical finishes from Miroslave Klose and Lukas Podolski in the twentieth and thirty-second minutes respectively. The Germans definitely appeared to be the better side early on, but the English began to find their footing in the match shortly after Podolski’s strike hit the back of the English net.
The first true English counterpunch came in the thirty-seventh minute when Matthew Upson put home a headed attempt on goal off a Steven Gerrard free kick to make the game 2-1. Then, less than one minute later, came the moment which is sure to haunt English dreams for years to come.
After a respectable buildup by his team, English midfielder Frank Lampard came to possess the ball at the top of the German penalty area. He let loose a looping shot on goal which beat German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but crashed off the crossbar. The ball ricocheted straight down and past the German goal-line, yet the backspin created by its collision with the crossbar sent it back into the field of play. Sadly neither referee Jorge Larrionda nor his linesman were in a position to make the call, and the goal never counted.
From then on a match which could have been anyone’s game at 2-2 seemed destined to end in a German victory. Both of Germany’s goals in the second half came off devastating counterattacks which were a result of the England team desperately pushing for a tying goal which they’d rightfully already scored. The game’s end result may have been 4-1 in favor of the Germans, but England coach Fabio Capello knows the game could have turned out much differently.
“"We made some mistakes when they played the counterattack,” Capello told ESPN.com after the game. “The referee made bigger mistakes. If we are given that goal, there is no way of telling what the end result would have been.”
Back home in Norman, fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouth regardless of which team they were backing heading into the game.
“I wish England would have won, and I still think they could have,” said Norman resident Walter Russell. “The fact there’s no instant replay [in FIFA-sanctioned soccer games] is absolute horseshit.”
Germany supporter Bryan Spitz echoed Russell’s sentiment, only without the profanity. After all, his team won.
“I really wish they’d get these things right,” Spitz said. “FIFA seems to think any press is good press, but they don’t recognize that stuff like this turns off casual fans from watching soccer.”
Both men say they’ll continue to watch the World Cup despite the refereeing gaffes, but that the game as a whole would be much better if FIFA, as Walter Russell eloquently puts it, “grows the fuck up and joins the twenty-first century already.”

England vs Germany Photos

In in-goal shot of Frank Lampard's shot having clearly crossed the German Goal-line.
Courtesy UK Daily Mail online



England Coach Fabio Capello reacts to the referee's decision
Courtesy skysports.com

Midterm Project

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Hat Trick Soccer Photos